Sunderland (RAF USWORTH) Airport

However if the the council had taken a long term view and protected the airport, in the knowledge that the council would never be able to afford to build another they may today have had a greater asset.
If they had used many of the brownfield sites and old industrial land that was at the time in great abundance thay may have even had an international airport serving Wearside and the North of England. Yet the decision was made in true council style to get rid of the loss making airport !!!!!!!

Sounds like Plymouth Airport, shut just a few days ago(!)

However if the the council had taken a long term view and protected the airport, in the knowledge that the council would never be able to afford to build another they may today have had a greater asset.
If they had used many of the brownfield sites and old industrial land that was at the time in great abundance thay may have even had an international airport serving Wearside and the North of England. Yet the decision was made in true council style to get rid of the loss making airport !!!!!!!

Sounds like Plymouth Airport, shut just a few days ago(!)

Just looking through the pics here……how smart was that Rothmans livery on the Pitts’s !! Guess it wouldn’t be allowed these days…..

Just looking through the pics here……how smart was that Rothmans livery on the Pitts’s !! Guess it wouldn’t be allowed these days…..

Vee Deplidge

I came across this thread and site from a random google link while looking for something else entirely.
I pretty much grew up at Sunderland airfield – both my parents flew there, as did my grandmother, briefly, in the late 60s and 70s and my father was a flying instructor there.
If anyone is still looking for photos I have quite a lot and I also recently found some old video footage of the airfield and some of the members. I only recognise one, Les Richardson, but the others might be familiar to some of you who mention flying there.
Anne

Hello Anne, I remember you being born, your father, John was my flying instructor and a smashing bloke, well liked by everyone. Your mother had stopped flying by then but still visited the airfield on a regular basis, as did your grandmother.
It is wonderful to find this site after all these years
Happy new year to all
Vee Deplidge

I will try and get some scanned in to put up. The video is causing me problems – my editing software is very complicated!

First of all, welcome!

I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping you’ll get time to post some of your pictures. As you’ve seen from the posts above, there are a lot of us that would love to see them!

Hear, hear – to the welcome and the wish to see your photos 🙂

Roger Smith.

I came across this thread and site from a random google link while looking for something else entirely.
I pretty much grew up at Sunderland airfield – both my parents flew there, as did my grandmother, briefly, in the late 60s and 70s and my father was a flying instructor there.
If anyone is still looking for photos I have quite a lot and I also recently found some old video footage of the airfield and some of the members. I only recognise one, Les Richardson, but the others might be familiar to some of you who mention flying there.
Anne

PM sent.

NEAM are hoping to be able to put our complete archive online over the next few years – something in the region of 10,000 photos! All contributions are always welcome

I came across this thread and site from a random google link while looking for something else entirely.
I pretty much grew up at Sunderland airfield – both my parents flew there, as did my grandmother, briefly, in the late 60s and 70s and my father was a flying instructor there.
If anyone is still looking for photos I have quite a lot and I also recently found some old video footage of the airfield and some of the members. I only recognise one, Les Richardson, but the others might be familiar to some of you who mention flying there.
Anne

First of all, welcome!

I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping you’ll get time to post some of your pictures. As you’ve seen from the posts above, there are a lot of us that would love to see them!

I came across this thread and site from a random google link while looking for something else entirely.
I pretty much grew up at Sunderland airfield – both my parents flew there, as did my grandmother, briefly, in the late 60s and 70s and my father was a flying instructor there.
If anyone is still looking for photos I have quite a lot and I also recently found some old video footage of the airfield and some of the members. I only recognise one, Les Richardson, but the others might be familiar to some of you who mention flying there.
Anne

A few more

Photograph 1 the control tower
Photograph 2 Taken in 1935 at Empire Air Day

Good quality photos. By the way, in case anyone was wondering, the white building in the background is now the Three Horeshoes public house (Good food, better beer). Apparently it was used as a mess (Sgts or officers -I forget which) during WWII. It’s still there, and right next to NEAM…..

Almost dirctly above the rudder/fin joint of G-AWPA in the first pic, just visible amongst the trees is Hylton Castle. It used to be a school, and as such was the home (Boarding school) of a certain Joseph Swan… who later went on to invent the lightbulb and entered a partnership with Thomas Edison who developed the same idea at the same time 5000 miles away. The patents were put in withing days of each other with Edison just beating Swan. So every time you see mention of the Edison and Swan Lighting Company, remember that the filament electric lightbulb came from Sunderland…..:D

Local History lesson over.

Few more…

Happy memories. Yes it must be Sunderland air show 1973.

I had to hitch a ride home in Jack Cassidy’s Cessna 337 after my outbound “ride”, Beagle Pup G-AXEV, fell off the end of the runway after a bit of an overenthusiastic attempt at a roll on finals during the display. 😮

I suspect the “Gold Leaf” Zlin was a 326, which replaced the infamous 526 in which Neil Williams had his legendary landing after the mainspar broke!

Anyone else noticed the four-blade prop on the Hurricane?

If memory serves me right the Zlin that went through the hangar roof at Kidlington suffered the same problem.
Yes I had noticed the Hurricane had a 4 blad prop. I vaguely remember seeing it like that and more recently with 6 exhaust stubs each side.

The Mk5 was disposed of when the Mk4 became available.

It was actually a T5 fuselage with T3 wings with the bits acquired from Leeming.

Happy memories. Yes it must be Sunderland air show 1973.

I had to hitch a ride home in Jack Cassidy’s Cessna 337 after my outbound “ride”, Beagle Pup G-AXEV, fell off the end of the runway after a bit of an overenthusiastic attempt at a roll on finals during the display. 😮

I suspect the “Gold Leaf” Zlin was a 326, which replaced the infamous 526 in which Neil Williams had his legendary landing after the mainspar broke!

Anyone else noticed the four-blade prop on the Hurricane?

JP mk 5! Pass…. we have a T4 owned by one of our members (in deep store- the aeroplane, not the member)….

The hunter looks healthier these days as does the Vampire. Valletta – not so well.

Early days at NEAM (1974)…what happened to the JP?

So many fond memories!!!

Taken at the Sunderland Airshow in I think 1974

My slides have June 1973 stamped on…thank heavens for Kodachrome, ageing very well.